Americans overwhelmingly support rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid, according to a poll obtained by Breitbart News.
The internal GOP poll comes as Congress debates changes to Medicaid through the budget reconciliation process. Republicans have defended their efforts to pursue reforms ensuring the integrity of the system by removing those ineligible for payments — including illegal aliens — despite Democrat attacks insisting the beleaguered system should be left as is.
The results of the poll should encourage Republicans to continue their efforts to reform the program.
An overwhelming 86 percent of those polled supported “rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid by stopping payment for beneficiaries who have died or do not qualify,” with 65 percent strongly supporting.
Only 12 percent signaled opposition.
When asked if “strengthening citizenship verification to ensure new Medicaid applicants are in fact eligible,” 82 percent of those polled offered their support, with a meager 17 percent opposing.
And when asked about “establishing work requirements for able-bodied adults who are choosing not to work and do not have children or elderly parents in their care,” 72 percent gave their support. Only 22 percent opposed.
Americans clearly believe there is plenty in the Medicaid system that should be rooted out as well.
When asked “how much waste, fraud, and abuse is there in Medicaid,” 71 percent said “a lot” or “some,” with only a quarter of those polled choosing “not much” or “nothing.”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been tasked with finding savings through budget reconciliation to comply with the previously-passed budget resolution, meets Tuesday to markup its portion of the reconciliation bill. The Committee, with jurisdiction over Medicaid, is responsible for finding significant taxpayer savings to enable President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill — which will include historic tax cuts for Americans — to advance.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has set a goal of sending a bill to the Senate before Memorial Day, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) wanting to pass the bill by Independence Day.
If Republicans can successfully reform Medicaid, American taxpayers will have yet another reason to celebrate.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
